Dead or Alive: Bloodlines  Side Story
by Snafu the Great
Summary: Takes place several weeks after the climatic battle between Kasumi and Ayane in DOA: Bloodlines. Ryu discovers that he is not the last of the Hayabusa clan, as someone from his past emerges from hiding...
1. Chapter 1

Dead or Alive: Bloodlines Side Story A Dead or Alive Fanfiction By The Headcrook

Legal BS Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tecmo. I got this idea and I decided to type it. Turns out to be the first half of a side story within the Bloodlines storyline. This takes place several weeks after Kasumi defeated Ayane.

Part One: Reflections

[Hayabusa Curio and Antiques/Ryu and Kasumi's Home, three weeks after Kasumi's duel with Ayane...

Ryu Hayabusa was glad that he didn't have to open the shop on Sundays. It was also the perfect excuse to look after his battered and bruised girlfriend.

Three weeks had passed since the battle at the Sacred Wilderness Training Grounds. Kasumi had forced Hayate into a showdown for her freedom. And Hayate had played right into her trap.

Resurfacing in Japan after a seven-month absence, Kasumi had declared war on her brother, her half-sister and the Hajinmon sect. Ayane had volunteered to fight in Hayate's place, as Kasumi had predicted, since the last time Kasumi encountered her brother, she had beaten him to a bloody pulp.

Ayane, however, had no compunctions in taking the opportunity to finally take down her most hated rival. However, it was Kasumi who came out the winner of the match, Ayane falling to the same technique that Raidou used on Hayate √ the Sky Torn Blast.

With Ayane's defeat, Hayate had kept his end of the bargain. The scroll that was currently in Ryu's hands had made it official. Ryu had came across it while on his morning jog. Upon inspecting it, he saw that it had the insignia of the Mugen Tenshin clan, meaning it was for Kasumi.

It was still early and Kasumi would still be asleep at this hour. Rather than opening the door and awakening his sleeping companion, Ryu opted to use his teleportation ninpo to enter the second floor in a swirl of green leaves.

Upon entering the bedroom, he found Kasumi where he left her, in the bed, fast asleep. She was on her side, dressed in one of his old dress shirts she used as a nightgown. The bruises on her face were gone, but the bandages on her hands were present. Her short ginger hair, which was slightly longer than Ayane's, framed her face. Her face was that of peace.

Ryu placed the scroll on the dresser and stripped down to his underwear. Slipping on a pair of pajama pants, he got in the bed beside Kasumi. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. Ever since moving in with him, Kasumi had been the hard sleeper. Unless it was her former clan hunting her down or a typhoon, she wouldn't have been disturbed.

Pulling the blanket over Kasumi and himself, the superninja wrapped one arm around Kasumi's torso, pulling her into a protective embrace, her back resting up against his chest. He leaned in close and inhaled, breathing in her scent. Her hair faintly smelled of strawberries, given that she used scented shampoo from the night before.

It was shortly before the duel with Ayane that they had taken their relationship to the next level.

[Flashback

_It was raining. Lightning flashed, followed by the sound of thunder. Ryu was already in the bed, watching the rain fall from the window, which was partially concealed by the curtains. Kasumi entered the room. Dressed in only a bathrobe, she looked at Ryu, who continued to watch the rain. She remembered when she was younger that whenever a thunderstorm came, she ended up sleeping in the spare futon in her brother's room._

_"Still scared of lightning?" Ryu asked._

_"I grew out of it," Kasumi replied. "Ayane would taunt me for being scared of lightning."_

_"You know that there are different types of lightning," Ryu explained._

_That's when he noticed Kasumi's robe at a heap around her ankles. She was wearing only a pair of white panties._

_"Show me," Kasumi replied softly._

_They both ended up making love in to the sounds of the thunderstorm, the lightning all but forgotten. Ryu had some experience in being intimate, but Kasumi didn't. She was a virgin and Ryu was her first. Even with the impending duel with Ayane, Kasumi managed to forget about, if only for a little while._

_It was their moment._

[End Flashback

Ryu smiled at the memory. He had underestimated Kasumi yet again. The last thing he was expecting her to do was to initiate their sex life. Neither person had no regrets about that decision, seeing as how their love life had gotten much better.

Placing a small kiss to the back of Kasumi's head, Ryu settled down in the bed and was soon asleep.

Kasumi stirred, then woke up. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was a little over 10 in the morning. The former nukenin gently untangled herself from Ryu's grip and sat up in the bed. Stretching and yawning, she hopped out of the bed and did some stretches and practice kicks, ending with one in a vertical split.

Then she looked at the dresser and noticed the scroll. Recognizing it as one from her former clan, she picked it up, broke the wax seal and opened it. It was a declaration, hand written by her brother.

_**'By order of Hayate, the 18th leader of the Mugen Tenshin Clan, the nukenin known as Kasumi will no longer be marked for death and is free of the death sentence, as per to the conditions of your victory. However, she is exiled from the village and declared ronin, effective immediately.'**_

"Are you okay, 'Sumi?" Ryu asked from the bed, now fully awake. He had seen her reading the scroll.

Kasumi turned from the scroll and looked at Ryu. "They can kill me, so they decide to disown me and declare me a ronin," she said with a rue smile on her face.

Despite Kasumi's new confidence in herself and her martial arts skills, Ryu was worried about her relationship with Hayate and Ayane. The events these past couple of weeks have clearly shown her resentment towards her brother and half-sister.

But Ryu couldn't blame her. After all, she had forsaken her clan to avenge Hayate and Genra issued the death sentence in retaliation. Kasumi had spent the following year being hounded and pursued all over Japan until she disappeared following the Tritower Incident.

But Kasumi knew the rules and regulations of her clan far better than Hayate. The ronin status has a span of one year, following that, Kasumi will be allowed back into the clan. But given the past year on the run and the fact that Hayate chose the clan over blood, Kasumi wasn't sure that she wanted to return. If anything, she was preparing to renounce her name and heritage and start over with a new name.

Instead, she decided to take the fight to her former clan and won her freedom. She had some regrets over what she had did to Hayate, but those thoughts were squashed immediately.

Following the battle between her and Ayane, Kasumi had spent most of her time in traction, her body sore from the grueling and dramatic battle. It was only a week ago that she began walking around. Or course, Ryu wanted her to make a complete recovery before she could leave the apartment. Kasumi didn't mind, since she liked being pampered by her superninja of a boyfriend.

Without another word, Kasumi tore the paper into pieces and tossed it into the wastebasket. Looking at the crest and reading the scroll of her former clan brought back memories, both good and bad. However, the bad memories had far outweighed the good. Ryu could have swore that the temperature had dropped several degrees.

The same thing happened earlier when he was out jogging earlier, he ran into Ayane. However, it was like as if she knew his jogging course and was waiting for him.

[Flashback

_Ryu's jogging route had taken him through one of the city's parks. As he rounded the trail, he saw Ayane, dressed in casual clothes: a red-and-white haltertop and blue-and-red jogging pants, lounging on a bench. A bandage was on her left arm and several fading bruises were on her face._

_Ayane disliked the fact that Ryu was dating her half-sister, but she still respected him a great deal. He helped train her and she helped in in kind during the Vigoor Fiasco._

_Ryu sat down on the bench beside her. "Morning, Ayane," he greeted._

_Ayane responded with a nod. "Ryu." She was right to the point. "Why?"_

_"Why what?"_

_"Why did you protect Kasumi?" the Hajinmon boss asked. "You of all people know she is a runaway."_

_Ryu looked Ayane in the eye. "Your half-brother asked me to." Off Ayane's shocked expression, Ryu continued, "Hayate asked me to protect her. This was before Raidou returned to the village and stole the Sky Torn Blast. Then again, Kasumi was able to elude the Hajinmon for so long without my help. Then she came to me after she had disappeared."_

_"Hayate asked you to protect her?" Ayane repeated. "Why didn't he tell me?"_

_"He knew you'd be upset. Why you despise Kasumi so much?"_

_Ayane leaned back in her seat. "I'm always in her shadow. Even in dishonor she is better than me. She always had everything. I had to work my way to where I am now. It's just not fair. My father is my uncle, I am nothing more than a poisoned child."_

_"You shouldn't be concerned over what people say about you," Ryu replied with genuine concern. "You are one of the finest ninjas the Hajinmon has to offer."_

_Ayane smiled at the compliment, but sneered. She knew that Ryu was right. "But it wasn't enough to defeat Kasumi," Ayane replied. "Then again, I wasn't expecting her to use the Sky Torn Blast on me either. How did she learn it?"_

_"Apparently, she used the Skill Copy technique that Raidou used and learned it from her brother," Ryu replied. He then took on a serious tone. "I know you admire and respect Hayate, Ayane. But put yourself in Kasumi's place. Would you have done anything when Raidou crippled him? Kasumi knew the risks, but she wasn't thinking about the clan. She abandoned the clan out of love for her brother, to avenge him."_

_Ayane knew that what Ryu had said was true. She suspected that Genra had an ulterior motive when placing the death sentence on Kasumi. She reached into her pocket and handed a small scroll over to the elder ninja. "Give this to Kasumi. It's from her brother."_

_She stood up and before walking away, she turned back to Ryu. "I would have done the same thing." After a moment, Ayane continued, "I would have went after Raidou myself. But I was too clouded with hate and my blind loyalty to Genra." A sardonic smile spread across her lips. "But I am impressed with Kasumi finally growing a spine and taking the fight to all of us. Tell her that."_

_Ryu nodded. "I understand." He got up and resumed his morning jog as Ayane walked away. What Ryu didn't know was that during the weeks that Ayane was in traction herself, she deduced that Kasumi would force them into a fight for her freedom. Since Hayate wouldn't be able to fight his sister, Ayane knew that she would face Kasumi._

_What she didn't expect was to be laid out with the clan's most powerful technique._

[End Flashback

"So who gave you the scroll?" Kasumi asked as she brushed out her hair. She was fresh from her shower and had changed into a blue haltertop and a pair of panties.

Wearing a towel around his waist, Ryu responded, "Your half-sister." At that sentence, Kasumi turned around, just as Ryu was now wearing a pair of underwear and was currently slipping on a pair of pants. "She was a bit upset over why I was protecting you, but she kind of understands."

"'Kind of?'" Kasumi repeated.

"She told me that she would have done the same thing you did concerning Hayate," Ryu replied. "She's also impressed that you stood up for yourself."

Kasumi said nothing else, deciding to resume brushing her hair. As she did so, a small smile crept onto her face.

* * *

Later on that night, Ryu and Kasumi had went out to dinner. One of the local restaurants near her university had made an excellent Strawberry Millefeuile, her favorite dessert. Given what Kasumi had on, which was her black leather vest, denim pants and boots, she was the object of desire and envy for those present. 

After dinner, they went out to the movies, where they took in several classic Sonny Chiba films. Ryu never took Kasumi to be a classic film fan. Once the film was over, they visited a teahouse, where Kokoro made her debut, becoming a full geisha. Then they decided to head home. It was nighttime, past midnight as they strolled through the deserted park, their personal shortcut. Of course, the last time a group of men tried to mug them, they ended up in the hospital with numerous broken bones.

The summer night was clear, with a full moon in the sky.

It was at that moment that the perfect night soon went downhill.

Their senses kicked into overdrive as both the former nukenin and the superninja ducked behind a tree, just as a volley of shuriken and kunai rained down upon them.

"I thought Hayate lifted the death sentence!" Kasumi shouted.

"He did!" Ryu responded. He then caught a glimpse at their attackers. "Those aren't Hajinmon ninja! They're from the Black Spider clan!"

The Black Spider Ninja Clan were the natural enemies of the Mugen Tenshin and Hayabusa Clans. They were also partially responsible for destroying the Hayabusa village. And apparently, Ryu thought that they were destroyed by his hand.

Now, they were out for blood.

Two ninja circled the tree. One was armed with a ninjaken while the other had claws on his hands. The claw man attacked Kasum, who backflipped out of harms' way while Ryu hopped back to avoid the overhead swing. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough, since the ninja had slashed his ponytail.

The two ninjas forced Ryu and Kasumi out into the open, where they were surrounded by a dozen ninjas, the Black Spider elite assassin squad.

Their leader, who was holding a spear, leered at Kasumi. "Look what we have here, boys. It's the little princess runaway bitch herself," he sneered. "We're gonna have some fun with her before sending her body back to her brother."

"You touch Kasumi," Ryu threatened, "And I'll kill you myself."

"Get them!" the leader shouted.

Even though the Black Spider clan had the numbers advantage, they lacked experience. Working together as a team, Ryu and Kasumi fended off their attackers as the Black Spider boss watched. Even without their weapons, Ryu Hayabusa and Kasumi were still a formidable pair.

Ryu punted one ninja into the air, then teleported after him, grabbed him and spun him to the ground head-first in the form of his infamous Izuna Drop. Kasumi has dodged a ninja who was holding another spear. When the ninja thrusted forward, Kasumi hopped onto the spear, ran across its length and slammed her foot into the ninja's face. Once, twice, three times, the third time she somersaulted off and landed beside Ryu.

They had taken down six of the men, but the other six were closing in on them. One of them, armed with a naginata, took a swing at Kasumi. Ryu, not thinking of his own safety, stepped in to take the blow.

However, before the ninja could complete the swing, he was consumed by flames, his charred skeleton falling to the ground.

Ryu looked at their savior. It was a woman. She was dressed in a school uniform, complete with blazer and skirt (ala Gogo from Kill Bill). In one hand, she was holding a hunting bow. A satchel full of specially designed arrows was slung across her back. A mask covered her face.

With rapid fire quickness, she pulled out two more and leapt into the air as two ninjas attacked her, flipping in mid air and shot two more ninjas, the flame arrows doing their job of eliminating the attackers. Landing on her feet, she pulled out two swords and tossed them to Ryu and Kasumi.

Now armed, Ryu and Kasumi gained a second wind and faced their attackers. From the corner of his eye, Ryu watched the newcomer fight with a tanto, similar to what Kasumi once carried, since her bow was knocked from her hand. 'What the...that's my family's style! How does she know Hayabusa Ninjitsu?'

He received his answer once an attacking ninja sliced the woman's mask in two. As the two halves of the mask fell to the ground, the woman jammed the bladed end of the tanto into the ninja's throat, killing him.

Then Ryu got a good look at the woman's face when she turned around.

Someone he thought was dead. The hair was longer, but there was no mistaking her identity.

Ryu nearly facefaulted. "Ku...Kureha?!"

At that moment, the leader charged, attempting to spear Ryu from behind. Quickly getting over his shock, Ryu flipped over the leader and brought his sword down onto his neck, decapitating the leader. Kureha, in the meantime, had retrieved her bow and was assisting Kasumi in finishing off the remaining ninja.

Once the danger had passed, Kureha turned to Ryu. "Been a long time, cousin."

"You know her?" Kasumi asked.

"We'll catch up on the reunion later," Kureha said. "We got to get out of here before the police show up."


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two: A Secret Revealed

[Hayabusa Curio and Antiques/Ryu and Kasumi's home...

Ryu was pacing the living room floor. Kasumi was leaning up against the wall while Kureha was seated on the couch, an amused look on her face. "You keep pacing like that," Kureha said, "You'll make a nice hole in the floor."

"You can't be Kureha," Ryu said. "Kureha is dead. I watched her die back in the village. Doku damn near sliced her in two."

"Yet, here I am," the former shrine maiden said with a small grin. "Have you forgotten what happened the last time the Black Spider clan kidnapped me?"

"What happened?" Kasumi asked.

"Apparently, our bastard uncle Murai did something right," Kureha explained, her expression cold upon mentioning the name of their traitorous uncle. "When Ryu rescued me and brought me back to the village, Murai had designated a decoy, since the Black Spider Clan tends to kidnap girls. One of the girls in the village looked like me, and was chosen. She was the one who died at the village."

"Where were you?" Kasumi asked.

"I was in the mountains, at the old temple," Kureha explained. "I returned just in time to see the village being attacked."

"How do I know you're actually Kureha?" Ryu demanded. "I need proof."

Kureha thought for a moment. Then she pulled down her right sock, revealing a small scar. "I was six when I fell into a ditch and cut my leg on some sharp rocks. You carried me back to the village, and Uncle Joe bandaged me up."

Ryu walked over to Kureha and crouched down. Tracing the scar with one hand he swallowed the lump in his throat. Ryu remembered the incident as well. The injury wasn't serious, but it did made Kureha cry and Ryu carried her piggyback to the village. The scar was about six inches in length, from her kneecap to the calf muscle.

"If you need more proof," Kureha said, pulling an object from her pocket and showing it to Ryu, "then look at this."

Ryu recognized the item immediately.

The Dragon's Eye, the instrumental piece that was needed to transform the Dragon Sword into its complete form, the True Dragon Sword. When Ryu returned to the village, he had placed it on her grave. Kureha was indeed telling the truth.

"Glad to know this thing was useful to you," Kureha said as she placed the item back into her pocket. "I was there at the village when you showed up. It was pretty touching when you placed it on my grave. Too bad I'm not dead. I also heard about your battle against Murai from Muramasa."

"Why now?" Ryu asked. "Why wait instead of thinking that I was the last of the clan?"

Kureha smiled. "You're not the last of our family. Far from it. As always, your father was smart enough to draw up a backup plan."

Ryu blinked. "There are survivors? How many?"

"Out of the entire village," Kureha replied, "close to three hundred families, plus two hundred and seventy-five active ninja. Three of the five council members also got out alive. In order to keep up the deception that the Hayabusa clan was wiped out, we remained hidden. Some are with our allies, the White Crane, the Red Tengu and the Black Falcon Clans, while others have relocated all over Japan. Some are even here in the city. But we all have been keeping close tabs on you and your exploits. Before that, we had to make sure that what had happened to the village wasn't an inside job. Turns out it was Murai's doing. And as you can see, I am no longer a shrine maiden. One of the other girls, Rena, is the new maiden. I wanted to fight."

"So what happens now?" Ryu asked.

"I was sent here from Osaka to look for you and tell you the truth," Kureha explained. "As of this moment, you, Ryu Hayabusa, are the undisputed leader of the Hayabusa ninja clan. Of course, given your responsibilities with your shop, they appointed me as your second-in-command. Whatever you say, goes."

After a moment, Ryu gave his first order to Kureha. "Send word out that the superninja is back and tell them to rebuild the village. I also want a small shrine built to honor those who have died."

* * *

Later on that night, Kureha was stretched out on the couch. Following a phone call to the council, who had relocated to Osaka, Ryu offered her a place to stay for the night before returning to Osaka, where the surviving clan elders had taken refuge. Unable to sleep, Kureha, dressed in a pair of Kasumi's jogging pants and a halter top, fixed herself a cup of tea. 

"Couldn't sleep?" Kasumi asked as she entered the room.

Kureha shook her head. "Nah. I can only sleep for a moment, then I wake up."

Kasumi could sympathize with her. As she poured herself a cup of tea, Kureha continued, "I've heard about the infamous Kasumi, the runaway who abandoned her clan to avenge her brother. You don't disappoint."

Kasumi sat down across from her. "Most what you hear about me is untrue."

"So why don't you start from the beginning," Kureha replied. "I'm curious about the woman who has my superninja of a cousin wrapped around her finger."

Kasumi smiled. She was liking Ryu's cousin already. "You probably know that Ryu and I have been friends ever since childhood. We grew up together, Hayate, Ayane, Ryu and myself. When I was nine, Genra took Ayane away to become his pupil. At the same time, Ayame, our mother, confessed to Ayane that she was indeed her daughter, that she was a product of rape. Raidou was her father, as well as uncle." Kasumi's face was a hard line. "That bastard lusted after my mother, but she loved my father. One day, while my father was out of the village, Raidou returned and raped her."

By this time, Kureha had focused her attention on Kasumi. She had heard rumors that Ayane was a 'poisoned child' and a 'half-breed' of sorts, and Kasumi verified it.

"Why didn't the clan send their ninja after him? Because the relationship was the same with me and Ayane, destined to live in the shadow of the elder sibling. I'm the elder sister by a year. Then one day...Raidou returned. He wanted the clan's ultimate technique, the Sky Torn Blast. He stole it from Hayate, and nearly crippled Hayate by using the blast on him."

Kasumi's brow furrowed. "With my brother incapacitated, they wanted me to take over as clan leader. I argued with them, saying that killing Raidou was to be the top priority, not to force leadership onto me. But the clan wanted to sweep what had happened to my brother under the rug. I left the clan to avenge him, but in doing so, I became a nukenin."

"A runaway shinobi," Kureha said.

Kasumi nodded. "I avenged my brother. I fought against Raidou and I killed him. But a nukenin can't return to their clan and I was marked for death. For the past year, I was chased all over Japan. It was until after the clan, along with Ryu and myself attacked DOATEC's Tritower, I left Japan.

"I found myself in Hawaii, and after some soul searching, I decided enough was enough," Kasumi continued. "There was a saying I heard while I was in America, 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' I decided to take the fight to Hayate and the clan. I learned Karate, as well as Hajinmon Ninjitsu and Kendo once I returned to Japan, as well as sword fighting. Ryu was nice enough to let me hide here while I declared war on the clan."

Kasumi smiled. "My plan was to force Hayate to lift the death sentence. In order to do so, I had to fight. Upon returning to Japan, I called Hayate and Ayane out, and they didn't disappoint. Ayane send the Hajinmon after me, I would send them to the hospital. Then Hayate was next. I lured him to a warehouse and attacked him, beating him within an inch of his life. My plan was to challenge him to a match for my freedom. But since I know my brother well, he can't fight me, so he had Ayane fight in his place."

"And you won," Kureha said.

Kasumi nodded. "By using the same technique on Ayane that Raidou used on Hayate. Now, the death sentence is lifted and I don't have to worry about the Hajinmon chasing me all over Japan. In order to save face, Hayate declared me a ronin. I haven't spoken to my family since that day. They chose the clan over me."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Kureha said. "Your clan was always harsh in its doctrines."

"So what's your story?" Kasumi asked. "I told you mine."

"If Ryu didn't already tell you," Kureha replied, "I was the shrine maiden assigned to guard the Dark Dragon Blade back in the village. And as you saw earlier with the Black Spiders, I have a talent for archery." She smiled. "Ryu saw me messing around with his archery equipment one day and offered to teach me."

"He taught you well," Kasumi admitted. "You're quite a shot. Did he teach you hand-to-hand combat as well?"

"No, one of the senior ninjas taught me how to defend myself. As I said, I was at the mountain temple on a personal vacation when I came back to the village. Doku and the Black Spider Clan were killing everyone in sight. I saw Miki, the girl who was my decoy, get killed by Doku. Even though we were crippled, we were not wiped out. While Ryu dealt with the Vigoor Empire, the surviving council members, as well as myself, led the survivors to safety.

"At the same time, I had to find out who was responsible. When it turned out to be Murai, I wanted to kill him myself, but Ryu beaten me to it. Since then, we have been in hiding, waiting and rebuilding our numbers. As I said, the clan has appointed me as Ryu's vice-leader of the Hayabusa clan."

"He has proven to be worthy of the task," Kasumi said. "I mean, taking on the Demon Clan on two separate occasions, not to mention crooked government agents, the Vigoor Empire and who knows what else..."

"You heard about the Demon clan?" Kureha asked.

"Ryu has told me about his run-ins with them," Kasumi replied mildly. ⌠It was during the festival. It was also where we shared our first kiss." She looked at Kureha. "But why the schoolgirl get-up?"

"No one's gonna suspect a schoolgirl to be a up and rising warrior from the Hayabusa clan," Kureha said, grinning. "Besides, I'm only nineteen. The schoolgirl outfit is only a disguise. Sometimes the best way to hide is out in the open."

The two girls spent some more time talking about their lives until they went to bed. This time, they were finally able to get some rest.


End file.
